The way you really know that winter has arrived, even if the snow is still lacking in some places in Europe, is the start of the winter event season. Even though there are interesting events taking place across the whole central Europe, the reason I chose to highlight Trentino, situated in the northeastern corner of Italy in the Dolomites, is that they are hosting one of the biggest events this winter, the 2013 Winter Universiade, besides a host of other fun and exciting happenings.
2013 Trentino Winter Universiade
The Winter Universiade, known also as the World University Games, is the second largest winter sports event after the Olympic Games and it will bring 3,600 athletes, staff, managers and technicians from sixty different nations to the Trentino region to join the event from December 11th to 26th this year. In its 26th year the Universiade will be largest ever.
The events will take place across the region with the city of Trento being the Winter Universiade’s capital city. Pergine and Baselga di Pinè, set very close to Trento, will be the main seats of ice related competitions where as Val di Fiemme will see the Nordic skiing events and Val di Fassa valley hosts the Alpine skiing events.
Trentino was granted the organization of this event thanks to the high quality of the hospitality system and the reliability and safety of the facilities. Each year up to five million tourists of forty nationalities come to Trentino for fun and relaxation, hence the region is accustomed to hosting large numbers of visitors.
In the region, winter sports lovers can enjoy of 800 km of alpine pistes and 500 km of Nordic ski tracks, with about 250 ski-lift plants transferring about 340.000 persons per hour. Trentino has also seen many other international sporting events, the Nordic Ski World Championships in Val di Fiemme have been to the region already three times (1991, 2003, 2013) and also prestigious snowboard, freestyle, MTB, climbing, sailing, surfing, ski and orienteering competitions as well as the Alpine skiing world- and European championships have been hosted by Trentino. In January 2013 Trentino hosted also World snowshoe race championship
If you can’t make it to Trentino this December, follow the event online at
www.universiadetrentino.org
Sports and Entertainment at the Alpine Rockfest
The 2013 Alpine Rockfest is the fourth annual event with the primary aim to combine sport with entertainment in a vivacious and lively atmosphere and thus draw worldwide attention to winter sports, held at the spectacular Paganella Ski Resort in the Italian Dolomites. The festival was an innovation of former U.S. Men’s Ski Team Head Coach Phil McNichol & Italian entrepreneur Marco Dallapiccola, and first took place in 2009.
The event will take place on December 23rd, and the world-class ski racing personalities taking part include Aksel Lund Svindal, Ted Ligety, Phillipp Schoerghofer, Bode Miller and Jon Olsson, to name just a few, in the pursuit of the biggest single cash prize in all of ski racing – 70,000€! The race format is Giant Slalom, complete with a heart-thumping jump over an Audi in the event.
See more event details and where to follow the event live on
www.alpinerockfest.com
Marcialonga Ski Marathon
The Marcialonga, Italy’s toughest cross-country marathon, takes place in the Val di Fassa and Val di Fiemme on January 26th 2014. Athletes can choose between the classic 70 km marathon or the shorter `Marcialonga Light’, 45 km race.
The day before the actual race, a fun event celebrating the tradition of cross-country skiing is taking place in a form of a 11km race, where all the skiing equipment must be from the 70s, poles and boots included.
See more details and sign up at
www.marcialonga.it
Other things to do in Trentino
Trentino is not only about its winter and outdoor sporting events and activities although these play a big part of the attraction the region has. In Trentino’s winter you can also explore the winter markets early in the season, or late in the season come for sounds of the Jazz festival. Either way, you’ll find fun on and off the slopes!
Images: Trentino Sviluppo S.p.A., Department for Tourism and Promotion, except the Alpine Rockfest image by Alpine Rockfest.
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